Beautiful
by ZahraQ
Summary: Susan wanted to look beautiful for a party and Edmund showed her exactly what she was hiding behind that make-up. One-shot. Sibling fluff. No incest. Ed/Su


**Beautiful**

"Today, I have to look the most beautiful one!" A dark-haired girl named Susan Pevensie firmly tells herself while hastily drying her wet hair. "What does she think of herself? Just because she is a blonde doesn't mean that she is more beautiful than me. I will show that vixen who is the most beautiful girl in whole of London."

Vigorously rubbing the towel against her head, Susan Pevensie, for that was her name, opened the door of her closet. She had already picked out an outfit for herself days in advance but last day's events had left her fuming and determined to look her best. Therefore, she was looking for something better to wear.

In a matter of minutes, her entire wardrobe was on her bed. Her enormous collection of dresses in the wardrobe gave her at least ten dress to choose from no matter the occasion. However, right now, this poor girl was going through a phase when she had all the imaginable clothes laid out before her, hers to choose from yet, she had nothing to appropriate to wear.

Stamping her feet angrily she paced around the room before going and sitting down in front of the mirror. She decided to first tame the unruly nest her hair had become. Once done with vigorous combing, she looked at herself. Her hair was slightly wet and soft, tender curls flowed down one of her shoulder. Her hair was something she had once been proud of. It was not permed or heavily curled. Nor was it ramrod straight. It was something in the middle. Soft, light curls throughout the black, silky hair. Now, she did not like them. She wanted them to be curled round her head and at the end. She wanted them to bounce like that vixen, Isabella's did. Frustrated, she threw the comb and started with her make-up.

She started with her eyes. She wanted them to look hooded and seductive just like the actresses she saw in the movies. God! Why can't she be beautiful like the women she idealised?

Twice.

Thrice.

Four times. Four times she redid her eye make-up and each time she had to remove it with the water and tissue she on her mirror-table. Out of sheer annoyance, she stood up and glared up at the pile of clothing on her bed. "Nothing." She said aloud. "Nothing will go right. Especially when I want them to be right. Can't I look beautiful for just one party?"

Unknown to her, a pair of chocolate brown eyes was watching her silently. Edmund Pevensie, Susan Pevensie's younger brother was watching her from the threshold of the gate. He had witnessed this entire scene unfolding and it was now that he decided to make his presence known."

"Yes, you can." He said walking into his sister's room. "And you will. You just have to do the right thing."

Susan whirled around. She was definitely surprised to see her brother here when no one was supposed to be in the house. But what was more surprising was that he had commented on one of her 'girly' troubles. Lately, she and her siblings had been drifting apart. They talked less and less and the number of arguments they would get into was increasing. None of her brothers, or even her sister wanted to involve them self in this, as they called it, partying Susan.

She sighed. A part of her knew that she was as much responsible for this as anyone else, probably more, but she refused to acknowledge that part.

"What are you doing here, Ed?"She asked. Her parents had gone to visit a sick friend. Peter, Edmund and Lucy had decided to meet up with a girl called Jill Pole.

"I don't know." Edmund confessed. "I just had a feeling that you were in trouble and needed help. So, I came back."

She sighed again. Edmund always knew when her siblings were in trouble. It was like a sixth sense or something. In a magical land called Narnia, this 'sense' of his had saved his siblings life innumerable times. Seeing the sad expression on Susan's face, Edmund tried to cheer her up. "However, this wardrobe-emergency was the last thing I expected."

Susan looked down. She knew her brothers, especially Edmund, was not all interested in her clothing or make-up problems but she desperately wanted to talk to him. She had been cut-off from her siblings for way too long and right now, she wanted to share her problems with him just as she had done in...Narnia...

"Tell me." He said softly, easily guessing her need.

"You will be bored." Susan said morosely. "And probably dismiss as useless."

"Nothing." His eyes flashed dangerously. "I repeat there is nothing that troubles my sister which I will consider useless."

Susan looked at her younger brother. Slowly she said. "There is this girl, Isabella Masen. Yesterday, she said that I did not look good because my hairs were not curled like hers and were black. She said that blonde haired people are the most beautiful one. I was angry and just wanted to look more beautiful than her at tonight's fare-well party of my school."

As she was saying she realised how naive and ignorant she truly sounded. She was now afraid and sure that her brother was going to laugh at her. But he surprised her by pulling her into a gentle embrace. Susan loved being hugged by her brothers and father. It was a sort of assurance to her that there was someone who was ready to protect her and bring her back to safety no matter what trouble she got herself into. Her brother's hug encouraged her to say more. "I looked at all of my dresses but none was good enough. I have tried make-up four times but there was something off. I did not look beautiful in any case." A sob was stuck in her throat. "Am I ugly Eddie? Can I never look beautiful?"

Slowly, her brother released her and turning her around, walked to the mirror. She was standing beside him, in front of the full-length looking glass. He picked up a bottle of nail-paint.

"These" I said gesturing towards the large collection of cosmetics proudly owned by Susan Pevensie. "Only make a person look pretty or physically attractive, not beautiful."

She frowned. What was he talking about? Wasn't being physically attractive and beautiful one and the same thing?

When Edmund answered her question she realised she had spoken out loud. "Up to a certain limit they are the same. However, the difference between them is that a beautiful person is physically attractive too but it is not necessary that a physically attractive person is beautiful as well."

Susan could see what he meant to say but she was not so sure about it. Ignoring her ponderings, Edmund continued. "You want to look beautiful tonight, right? I'll help you."

Edmund's opinion on fashion and dresses were definitely not valued and he refrained from giving them too but right now, deep inside Susan knew that her brother was what she needed. He picked up a thin blanket from the sofa and covered the mirror with it. Then he handed Susan a brown, unopened packet from her closet. It contained a dress similar to the one she wore on her coronation day. Peter had ordered dresses for Susan and Lucy with his first earning. He had them made exactly like the one his sisters had worn in Narnia. He wanted them to have a small part of Narnia with them; this being the very reason why the older of the two sisters had not even opened the package.

Today, however, Susan trusted her brother's judgement and put on the blue, silky dress. When she was once again standing beside her brother, Edmund picked up a tissue, dipped them in water and removed every trace of make-up from around her eyes. Next, he turned her around and started doing her hair. He loosely braided them so that some of her hairs were falling around her face. Once he was done, he took a step back, ran a critical eye on her and then smiled. "You're done."

"Done?" She asked incrudeously. "I haven't done anything with my face."

"You don't need to." He countered smoothly. "All you need to do now is smile."

He pulled off the blanket from Susan's mirror. A small gasp escaped her mouth. From head to toe, she looked...beautiful. There was not a trace of make-up. The dress did not show off her natural curves unnecessarily. There was not an ounce of fashion in her hairstyle. She looked simple. And in this simplicity, she saw the vast amount of beauty possessed by Susan Pevensie.

From behind her, her Edmund whispered. "By applying that make-up you haven't been making yourself beautiful but ruthlessly covering up your real beauty."

Susan was dumbstruck for a moment. When her baby brother had became so intellectual and wise? A minute or two later, Edmund seem to realise that he had just helped his sister in her 'girly' things. He looked awkward. Susan sensed his discomfort and decided to give him a way out. "There is still something left." She smiled at him and at his questioning gaze slightly lifted her skirt up to show her bare feet.

True to her expectations, Edmund threw up his hands and said in mock annoyance. "For Aslan's sake. You can choose a sandal yourself." Just as he was leaving, he turned around and said with a smile. "You, my Gentle sister, are making an excuse for us to Dad if Peter and I end up in jail because you will be the reason we will proudly be there in the first place."

With that, he was gone. At that moment, Susan was clueless about what he meant and she did not ponder on it long. Later, when she noticed the bruise on one of her ankle while putting on her sandal, she understood the silent plea he had made in disguise of that sentence. Smiling sadly to herself, she made her way to the party. But she was confident that her brothers were there for her.

**Ten Years Later**

Susan Pevensie, now a twenty-eight year old woman, looked at herself in the mirror. In the past ten years since that then-insignificant incident, Susan had applied make up, wore elaborate and fashionable clothes, and did her hair in style. However, today, as she looked at herself in the slim, white gown, gifted to her by her soon-to-be husband, she decided she did not want to look pretty but rather beautiful. Opening the small locket, she looked at the picture of her now-dead family.

Eight years after their death she was finally entering the new journey of her life. But neither was her father nor her brothers were there to give her away. Edmund's best friend Roger Hilton was walking her down the aisle. Once she had safely closed her locket and put it back inside her dress, she took a deep breath. Her hair hung loosely in a braid and her face was free of any make-up.

Today, she thought back to the incident that had happened almost ten years ago. Her brother had told her what beauty truly was. In a matter of a few minutes she was clutching Roger's arm and about to come into full view of the large number of people attending the wedding. She knew what was going to be their first reaction. Surely, there were not many brides who went to their wedding without elaborate bridal make-up. But as she began the journey towards her next phase of life, she was fearless. She was not going to cover her beauty with make-up. She was, in her own way, going to tell everyone, including her kind, loving and indulging lover waiting before the minister. She was going to tell them that Susan Pevensie was not just pretty. A loving and gentle smile came to her face. This was the smile her people had once called her greatest treasure. With this gentle smile, our Gentle Queen walked down the aisle. And everyone who saw her had to agree.

She was..._beautiful._

**So, how was it? I wanted to do an Ed/Su sibling fluff and this is what came to my mind. Please tell me your opinion. And can anyone guess what Edmund meant just before leaving the room?**

**Waiting to hear what you think. **

**ZQ**


End file.
